Peace as a Spiritual Practice

Peace as a Spiritual Practice

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The purpose of the 52 Principles is to develop a partnership, a connection with God. Connecting with God is why we are here; the soul’s desire. To be in communication with the Creator is ideally the most fulfilling life; our best life. The intent of the 52 Principles is God-realization through daily practice. Practice the principles with frequency and find God-consciousness through your own efforts. With practice, you will begin to encounter your experiences in a spiritual context as you begin to practice and master spiritual principles. This week’s spiritual principle is Peace.

What does peace look like? If your heart was placed on one end of a scale and a feather on the opposite end, would the scales be balanced? Or would your heart be heavier than the feather? The ancient Egyptian concept of MAAT was practiced in 2375 BCE. The wisdom of the principles of MAAT (truth, justice, righteousness, harmony, order, balance, and reciprocity) are principles that create peace. An open heart creates peace and oneness. As the saying goes, keep your heart as light as a feather. The scriptures counsels us to guard our heart, because out of the heart flows the issues of life (Proverbs 4:23, 24). Is your heart as light as a feather? Are you at peace? If not – why not? If we sow peace, we reap peace. Peace is the quality of the Divine presence within us.  Peace is heaven.

Peace is created through compassion for others. Do you classify people to be important or unimportant? Your perception of who is important demonstrates how well you know yourself.  Observe yourself in how you relate to others and discover who you are by your responses – think about how “it” would feel if “it” were you. How you interact with others offers clues about who you think you are. We are all the same on the soul level. You can be educated/uneducated and be ignorant and unaware. The more awareness, the more peace you will experience. Know yourself and your ignorance; argumentative, unkind, and stupid actions toward the other. Know the working of your mind and heart and you will come to peace by knowing and being willing and able to self-correct from the inner-being.

When thoughts are scattered, the mind is not peaceful. Shame, dishonesty, hate, judgement, discontent, competition, contentiousness, and drama is the opposite of peace. Non-peace shows up as confrontation, arguments, and discord. Peace is not the absence of war. The rumors of war and the preparation of war is a state of non-peace. Move from duality to unity. Awareness creates peace of mind; a higher state of consciousness that surpasses understanding (Philippians 4:7)

Assessment

Do you ask the question “What’s in it for me?”

Do you have a “need to be right” attitude?

Observe how you communicate with others; are you kind or rude?

What tilts the scale and prevents peace in your life situations?

What are your requirements to live a peace-filled life – to keep your heart open?

What beliefs cause non-peace?

Can you reflect on a period of time when you were in a state of peace?

How do you quiet the mind?

Is your heart as light as a feather?

Best Practices

Ø  With family, friends, associates, and others, cease from “pulling rank” based on age, status, gender, and relationship with other adults. Don’t diminish the other’s status by saying “I’m older, educated, etc.”. Treat adults as adults – everyone has the right to their opinions.

Ø  Being right is over-rated. Allow others to have opinions and beliefs without debate, even if you feel you are right. Being right is over-rated when it causes conflict. Allow others a “right” to their opinion.

Ø  Decrease the atmosphere of competition where there are “winners” and “losers”. Strive for cooperation, collaboration, mutual recognition, and respect for others. Affirmation:  I am not the only one.

Ø  Keep the lines of communication open with yourself and others. Notice when you avoid others and “shut down” communication. Strive to keep your heart open and allow all feelings/emotions good and not so good to pass through you.

Ø  Commit to one day of peace – free from drama, worry, shame, jealousy, obsessiveness, no judgment, etc. And decide the next day, based on the previous day, if you would like to practice peace for the next 24 hours.

Ø  Become teachable. No one has knowledge and expertise about everything. If there is something you do not know – admit it. Know who you are and why you do what you do. Seek the intent of your actions. Create a space for peace by admitting you don’t know – not knowing is okay. Not knowing is a space for newness. There is no pretense, embarrassment or shame in not knowing. Don’t hide or camouflage who you are. Be authentic.

To create the feeling of peace, we can apply the aforementioned principles of forgiveness, stillness (Psalm 46:10), love, light, joy, goodwill, truth, justice, righteousness, harmony, order, balance, and reciprocity on a daily basis. How you interact with others offers clues about who you think you are. Offer peace to the present moment and become who you were meant to be. Seek to know who you are on a deeper level. Self-Knowledge is the beginning of wisdom and peace.

What is your process in creating internal and external peace for Self, family, community, and world? Develop your own spiritual practice.

Peace and Much Blessings.